Growth creates Debt Collection Opportunities
An interesting and rare event has occurred in South Florida Real Estate sales. We keep our finger on the pulse of the micro-economies within the state as small shifts in economics are indicators of areas where Debt Collection can be made made more productive. Palm Beach and Broward counties both had more sales this year than their neighbor to the south, Miami Dade.
Single Family homes rose a small .1% in South Florida, as opposed to 2.9% for all of Florida. Townhouse sales grew by 3.750 sales, a 5.9% decline in South Florida,
Condo sales were down 1.2% across Florida.
Prices were up across the board from 11.6% in home prices to a median of %206,000, to Condo and townhouses up 6% to a median sales prices of $160,000 (both are South Florida Median Sales Price)
Seeing Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale pull away from Miami-Dade in all sales categories is a rare event, as the Miami Real Estate Market has been on fire, leading the state as it grew out of recession. The reason is fairly obvious. A stronger dollar has impacted Miami Sales, as the Miami Market has been very driven by foreign investment, with people wanting a safe haven for their money, and a weaker dollar last year, made luxury real estate in Miami much more appealing to foreigners.
The good news is, with growth still solid, we extrapolate that to mean that domestically, we see more and more strength. If foreign investment is down, but growth continues, the South Florida Market is being driven by people either moving into the state from outside, or from South Florida residents moving up.
A hot real estate market creates great opportunity for collections. One of the less obvious is if you have had a judgment against a debtor, that judgment is good for 20 years. Often the best strategy for a collecting a judgment in Florida is simple patients. As the economy improves, a debtor may find themselves in a better economic position, and go to sell their house to move up. Managing your judgment correctly would mean that you are repaid with interest before that house can be sold. It also indicates a stronger local economy, often creating opportunity to collect where there was none due to sheer economics.
Overall, we see South Florida continue as a hotbed of economics. It is a very entrepreneurial region with businesses fighting to make it, coming in and out constantly, driving the new economy. If you are owed a debt in South Florida, give us a call. Now may be the ideal time to convert that receivable into positive cash flow.
